Houston Fertility Journal

For better or for worse (okay, mostly the latter), fertility clinics have a reputation that often precedes even an individual’s initial visit. Perhaps couples looking to conceive a child somehow see going to a fertility clinic as an admission of failure on their part, or maybe they simply aren’t aware enough about how sophisticated these procedures have become and just how beneficial they can be in boosting their chances of bringing a new baby into this world.

Whatever the case may be, fertility clinics are not to be feared. In fact, this trepidation might be one of the key elements standing between you and your dream of having a baby. The time to set such apprehension aside is now.

Today’s couples face so many obstacles on their way to becoming parents that the last thing they need is their own inhibition to hold them back from reaching out to the very places that possess the knowledge and skill to help them past them all.

Fertility treatments nowadays have become so precise and complex that more and more couples are able to become fertile for the first time in ages. Moreover, because infertility is increasingly becoming recognized as the legitimate medical concern that it is, financial aid and insurance coverage are far more likely to be able to provide the necessary assistance for treatment.

But now we’re getting ahead of ourselves. First, you need to shed your fear of fertility clinics. So let’s take you through some steps to do just that.

Take Accountability

One surefire way to start disassembling your fear of fertility clinics is to call yourself out. Take accountability and recognize the emotions that may have been keeping you from truly reaching out to a fertility clinic for assistance. Although it might seem hard to believe, most people are so lacking in self-awareness that even the very act of understanding your hesitation could represent an impressive feat in and of itself.

Once you definitively state the issues you have with fertility clinics, you can examine them more closely and re-evaluate your position. There’s no way to combat an enemy without first identifying it, no way to treat an illness without a proper diagnosis. By that logic, how are you ever to overcome fear until you drag it out into the spotlight?

Even talking about fertility clinic may feel taboo to you. If so, that’s an understandable stance. Because of the sensitive nature of this area, some people have just straight-up decided not to talk about it. That ill-conceived approach only underscores and feeds that fear you’re hoping to squash.

If you’re ever going to solve your fertility issue, you have to first be willing to seek out a solution, and the only way that can happen is by speaking up about your problem. Infertility may be one of the most personal medical issues an individual or couple can face, but that’s all the more reason why it needs to be talked about aggressively and often. Failure to discuss such a serious topic only strengthens your fear of it.

Moreover, if you never recognize your fear and begin outwardly seeking knowledge and professional help, you might be wasting your time trying to conceive or going about it all the wrong ways. So many couples who are trying to have a baby wind up making some of the most common mistakes imaginable, simply because they don’t know any better.

This too only further cements your fear and seeming unwillingness to recognize and purge it from your life. If you never realize that your own views play an instrumental role in you not seeking out fertility treatment, you’ll never search for someone to help, and whatever methods you think you’ve been applying to solve the problem and maximize your odds of conception will never have the chance to be found out for the falsehoods that they are.

We’ll get to misconceptions in a moment, but you’d be surprised how much a difference you can make in your conception efforts if you change simple things that you and your partner may be doing.

Before another day goes by in your quest to conceive a child, take a long, hard look at yourself and ask why you so quickly dismissed the idea of going to a fertility clinic, even to see what your options are. We’re willing to bet that fear played an integral role. Own up to it now, and you’ll be that much closer to holding your little bundle of joy in your arms.

Move Past Misconceptions

As previously alluded to, one of the biggest contributing factors holding you back from letting go of your fear might be the misconceptions you’re clinging to. No matter what they think, many couples simply don’t understand what is involved in fertility treatment today. As such, they may not realize the breadth of successful treatment options out there and how far technology has traveled just in the few short years.

Believing that they have a clear picture of what infertility specialists do and confident that there’s little, if any, opportunity for improvement in their case, some couples will deny themselves the chance to find out 100% for certain that conceiving a child isn’t an option for them. In so doing, they might be ultimately robbing themselves of a solution to this most personal problem.

In many instances, a fertility specialist could actually be the X factor that changes everything. The fact that couples can simply do a web search and glean some general -- and perhaps inaccurate -- information about fertility treatment certainly doesn’t help matters. Even if you struggle finding the right specialist for you, there’s a great deal you can learn by going to an initial consultation and getting a professional opinion.

While it might seem shocking to some, the internet and its deluge of digital information can often just reinforce concerns you have and lead you down a dark path of misinformation instead of pointing you in the right direction. Although you and your partner’s fertility prospects might seem bleak to you, you’ll never really know for sure until you reach out to a specialist. Don’t trust your misconceptions, as they’ll only further muddy the waters of what fertility treatment is and why it can oftentimes work.

You might be asking yourself exactly what kind of misconceptions might be so detrimental to a couple’s dream of having a baby that they never even make that first trip to the fertility specialist. So, we’ll review some of the most popular ones, to ensure that you know a bit more about what we mean.

I can’t afford it: While some fertility treatments aren’t cheap, a ton of financial aid is currently out there, and besides, you won’t even know if you need to engage in any elaborate treatments to make a significant difference in your situation. Sometimes, all that is needed is a lifestyle change to boost fertility levels.

In vitro fertilization is my only option: Wrong. IVF might be among the most popular treatments for infertility out there, and yes, it can result in multiple fertilized eggs at one time. However, IVF is far from the only course of action that your specialist may recommend. You’ll never know what is necessary though until you make an office visit.

Success rate is everything: If we haven’t made it clear by now, don’t believe everything you read online. Case in point, success rates are common marketing tools for fertility clinics and the like, but these numbers can be skewed to appear greater than they actually are or may be applicable to a fraction of the patients they have treated. Be sure that you don’t use this as your only criterion for selecting a specialist.

I don’t need fertility treatment: If you and your partner have been trying to conceive for a while, it certainly can’t hurt to go for a consultation. Maybe you don’t need the more intense treatment options that others do. Yet, you’ll never know what’s causing the problem (and, consequently, how to fix it) until you cast aside your fear and get more information.

All fertility specialists are the same: We’ve established that success rates aren’t the be-all, end-all of fertility clinics, but even beyond that, you can’t assume that all clinics are on the same level. Sure, some will have better reviews than others and such, but you really need to be on the hunt for a specialist who fits your specific case before proceeding.

Recognize the Potential

While much of our discussion up to this point has centered on recognizing your fear and moving past your misunderstandings of fertility treatment, perhaps the most vital motivation to push your fear away is to truly grasp the potential that fertility clinics bring to the table. Infertility specialists, above all else, want to help you figure out what the problem is and to eradicate it in the most efficient, least invasive way possible.

They are on your side and are willing to work with you through the process of elimination to diagnose you and find a treatment that works. Furthermore, they do so with access to the technology and expertise that you could never achieve on your own. It is in their best interests to help you succeed.

In the best cases, your fertility specialist will go so far as to offer you the emotional support needed to withstand the sometimes long and arduous process to make real progress on improving your fertility. Fertility clinics know better than almost anyone what a personally draining experience working your way through available fertility treatments can be. In their care, you’ll have resources available to you to minimize the emotional strain that accompanies this process, such as support groups for other patients and personal counseling.

Your specialist should be someone you feel comfortable talking with and confiding in. This foundation of trust will serve as the basis on which all other progress will be built. Even though you may have hesitated in moving past your fear, don’t ever worry about taking a bit longer in your search to find an infertility specialist who will give you the attention and resources you need to really solve your fertility issues.

You have so much potential out there to improve your fertility situation that you need to be brave and leverage it as much as possible. Once you realize that you just might be able to eradicate your infertility, we suspect you’ll be more willing to rise above your own misgivings and give it a shot.

Decide to Act

Of course, all the rationale in the world can only do so much. In the end, it’s up to each individual or couple to make the decision to visit a fertility clinic and begin the road toward conception with hopeful hearts and faith in their medical professionals.

Fear is, sadly, a powerful deterrent for many would-be parents, and with any luck, the discussion above has at least helped to nudge you in the direction of seeking out a nearby fertility clinic that might be able to diagnose and treat your specific circumstances.

Facing your own emotions is merely the first step to putting them behind you and honestly and openly pursuing your dream of having a new baby.

Once you do finally decide to head to a fertility clinic, the next step is to enter research mode. Fertility is an active, rapidly expanding field of study in the medical community, with new treatments and approaches popping up all the time.

So you’ll want to ensure that you find a doctor whose background and sensibility complement yours. In addition, you should acquaint yourself with the journey you and your partner are about to embark on, starting with the new patient consultation. Have a series of questions ready for the staff, and have a general understanding about how the visit may go.

There’s no better way to keep your fear at bay and ensure that you stay focused on addressing your fertility issues once and for all.